Beyond Zork - Review

Ratings

Parser/Vocabulary

10

Atmosphere

9

Cruelty

Nasty

Puzzles

7

Overall

9

Written:

09-05-2012

Last edited:

09-05-2012

Platform:

Z-Machine

Beyond Zork takes place during the time of the game Spellbreaker. After the final conclave of Enchanters in Accardi-by-the-Sea are turned into amphibians, Y'gael summons you, a lowly peasant, to retrieve a priceless artifact, the fabled Coconut of Quendor from the Implementors.The coconut will then be used to store the knowledge from the Age of Magick. Travel through the lands of Grubbo, Accardi, Mizniaport, Gurth City, the Eastlands and the legendary ethereal plain of Atrii, fabled homeworld of the Implementors.The game has the mechanics of some of the pen-and-paper RPGs of the time, including D&D and Pathfinder.Together with the iconic world of the Zork series, this makes Beyond Zork a great and outstanding game. So dig out your PC, fire up Frotz, slip in your disk, and enjoy!

Parser/Vocabulary (Rating: 10/10)

Like every other Infocom title of its kind, BZ strives to set an example for modern IF RPG's such as Kerkerkruip and Necron's Keep.

Atmosphere (Rating: 9/10)

The iconic Zork atmosphere will immerse you as you destroy monsters and discover locations from this fabulous game.

Cruelty (Rating: Nasty)

The puzzles in BZ, unlike Cutthroats, are very tough and will make you want to break your computer. So when you're stuck, turn to the Invisiclues, or a walkthru, or step away from your computer and relax for a while. Afterwards, come back and conquer it!

Puzzles (Rating: 7/10)

As with Cutthroats (I swear this is the last Cutthroats reference in this review), I'm still playing this game so can't say much.

Overall (Rating: 9/10)

The RPG mechanics, Zorkian atmosphere and enchanting storyline make BZ a good game, other than the nasty puzzles.